Birmingham Panthers
Birmingham Panthers | |||
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League | British Basketball League | ||
Established | 2007 | ||
Folded | 2008 | ||
History | Birmingham Panthers 2007-2008 | ||
Arena | UoW Walsall Campus | ||
Location | Birmingham, West Midlands | ||
Team colours | Black and White | ||
Ownership | Herman Wilson | ||
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The Birmingham Panthers (official name Team Birmingham Panthers) was a professional
Franchise history
Basketball back in Birmingham
Following the demise and eventual liquidation of the
On 23 March 2007 it was officially confirmed that Birmingham would be part of the mass-expansion of the BBL, with former Bullets assistant coach Herman Wilson leading a consortium of investors behind the project.
Within weeks of the initial announcement it was confirmed on 18 April by the BBL that Team Birmingham Panthers would be the eleventh franchise taking to the court for the
Venue difficulties
On 11 September it was announced that due to health and safety risks, the Aston Events Centre was not in a suitable condition to host Panthers' home games, thus a search for an alternative venue was conducted at short notice.
Panthers played their inaugural match away on 16 September at local rivals Worcester Wolves in a Pre-Season friendly. Unfortunately for Panthers fans, the team lost 108-81. Luck didn't change a week later when the Panthers took to the court in their first ever league game, away to Leicester Riders, who defeated them with a similar scoreline, 101-79. The fact that none of Birmingham's import players had yet arrived only added to Coach Nigel Lloyd's woes, and just a few days later the clubs' dream of returning professional basketball to the city of Birmingham hung in the balance.
After having to uproot venue from Aston to Nechells, the club were forced again to seek alternative venues to stage home games as the cost and facilities available at their new home did not suit the club. Just days before their first home fixture, against Leicester on 6 October, the Birmingham Mail broke the news that the club were planning to relocate to Telford, 35 miles north of Birmingham.[6] Defeating the object of Panthers' franchise application, the BBL blocked the move in an attempt to keep basketball in Birmingham, and after discussions with the University of Wolverhampton, a deal was struck on 2 October to use their Walsall Campus Sports Centre as the home venue for all of the clubs' games for the upcoming season.[7]
On 21 October the Panthers got their first BBL win at home to local rivals Worcester Wolves. They won the game 98-86 with Daniel Sandell led all scorers with 38 points for the Panthers, while Anthony Paez led the Wolves' scoring with 32. A long and difficult season ensued for the Panthers, who managed to notch up only 6 victories throughout the whole league campaign, coupled with first round exits in both the BBL Cup and BBL Trophy. Their Trophy game with Worcester was switched to the NIA, former home of the Bullets, in a one-off showpiece game but were pipped to the honours losing 91-95.[8]
Move to Telford
After failing to attract a decent fanbase and support from investors in Birmingham, owner Herman Wilson switched two games to the TCAT Arena at Telford College, rebooting the idea of moving the franchise to Telford permanently despite earlier block's from the league.*Shropshire Warriors Manager/Owner Tom Sunley help back the idea to move to telford by selling out the 500 seater TCAT Arena. Having two young guns sign for the panthers helped the spot light on the idea. Sean Jones and Josh Crutchley suited up for the Panthers with a contract ready to sign to fulfill the Birmingham Panthers roster for the rest of the 2007/08 season. [9] Though the club were seriously considering a move to Telford on a permanent basis (with the possibility of keeping the Birmingham name),[10] the league confirmed that no official request had been made and that the move was only temporary in a bid to promote the club.[11] The team was comfortably beaten in both games at Telford by Newcastle Eagles and Plymouth Raiders, and the club returned to their usual home venue for the remainder of the season.
On 17 April, two days before the final game of the season at home to
Home arenas
- University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Campus (2007-2008)
- TCAT Arena (2008)
Season-by-season records
Season | Division | Tier | Regular Season | Post-Season | Trophy | Cup | Head coach | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Points | Win % | |||||||
Birmingham Panthers | ||||||||||||
2007–08 | BBL | 1 | 12th | 33 | 6 | 27 | 12 | 0.182 | Did not qualify | 1st round (BT) | 1st round (BC) | Nigel Lloyd |
Players
References
- ^ Collin Tattum (2007). "Basketball team to replace Bullets". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ a b Collin Tattum (2007). "Venue change hits Panthers". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 11 September 2007.
- ^ BBC Sport (18 April 2007). "New team to launch in Birmingham". BBC. Retrieved 19 April 2007.
- ^ Collin Tattum (2007). "Panthers ready to make Brum proud". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 19 April 2007.
- ^ Collin Tattum (2007). "Herman: Why we fired Bullets brand". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 19 April 2007.
- ^ Colin Tattum (2007). "Panthers set to quit Birmingham". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
- ^ Colin Tattum (2007). "Panthers banned from making Telford switch". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
- ^ Birmingham Mail (2007). "Panthers pipped to the post". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ^ Colin Tattum (2007). "Birmingham Panthers set to play in Telford". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ^ Colin Tattum (2007). "Panthers may be on move to Telford". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ^ Colin Tattum (2007). "Panthers switch not for good... yet!". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ^ Colin Tattum (2007). "End of the road looms for Birmingham Panthers". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ^ Colin Tattum (2007). "Herman may stay in Brum". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ^ Colin Tattum (2007). "Panthers fold as BBL pull the plug". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ^ Colin Tattum (2007). "Bid to reform Birmingham Bullets held up by lack of home HQ". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
External links
- Official website
- Birmingham Panthers on MySpace
- Birmingham Panthers news from Birmingham Mail